Jamie Carragher says Liverpool ‘haven’t replaced’ £65.5m star

Jamie Carragher says this season may prove that Arne Slot lacks a like-for-like replacement for Luis Diaz – but Bayern Munich’s £65.5million fee for the forward was a ‘good deal’ for Liverpool.

Diaz scored 41 goals in 148 appearances for Liverpool, helping the club win five pieces of silverware across his three-and-a-half year spell on Merseyside, including last season’s Premier League.

But just two months after celebrating with the trophy in front of the Anfield crowd, it was announced that Diaz had departed the Reds to join Bundesliga giants Bayern in a £65.5million deal.

Though Liverpool strengthened their attack with the addition of Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike across a record-breaking transfer window, some eyebrows were raised over their apparent willingness to let go of Diaz.

These questions have only intensified as a result of Liverpool’s wretched start in the first half of the campaign, with Slot’s big-money recruits flattering to deceive for the most part.

Meanwhile, Diaz has taken German football by storm, racking up seven goals and five assists in his first 12 appearances in the Bundesliga. He has also chipped in with three goals in the Champions League.

‘That’s where I think the hierarchy of the club are almost like: Arne Slot, you’re the head coach, as in Arne Slot might have wanted to keep him,’ ex-Liverpool defender Carragher said of Diaz’s exit on The Overlap.

‘But they’ve looked at it and said he’s 28 and if we give him a new contract, we’ve got to put him on massive money.

‘It was a good deal for Liverpool, I’ll argue that with anyone, and he’s going to look amazing in the Bundesliga because it’s not as good as the Premier League.

‘Diaz was a very good player for Liverpool, he wasn’t a great. He wasn’t Roberto Firmino, he wasn’t Sadio Mane, he wasn’t Mohamed Salah. He was a good player.’

Though not a like-for-like replacement, Carragher is hopeful that Wirtz can help fill the void left by Diaz following his impressive display against West Ham.

On Diaz, Carragher continued: ‘Liverpool got some good years out of him and got a good price, it was a good deal for Liverpool.

‘What they haven’t done is replaced him.

‘But if Wirtz becomes what we hope him to be… maybe he’s a different player but he’s that player between the lines to the left.’

According to Carragher, the level of performance Wirtz produced against West Ham should be the expectation when taking into account the German’s eye-watering £116m transfer fee.

‘He played well against Real Madrid but that was the first time I’ve watched Wirtz and thought he looked a level above everybody else on the pitch,’ the ex-England international said.

‘That’s what he should like when you’re paying that type of money.

‘I’m not trying to put more pressure on him but that was the first time I’d seen him and thought: he looks a level above everybody else here on the pitch. That shouldn’t be a one off.

‘He didn’t set a goal up, he didn’t score so we’ve still got to get that as well.

‘But the level he put in, I want that most weeks because he’s a superstar player, the best player in Germany, broke the British transfer record before Alexander Isak. I need to see that.

‘Sunderland and Leeds were two teams who Liverpool should dominate, may not win, but should dominate with the ball. I just hope that’s him off and running now.’

Carragher has never supported the idea of Liverpool changing managers midway through the season and hopes the club can kick on after their 2-0 victory at the London Stadium on Sunday.

‘It felt like a big week and I felt like West Ham away was the toughest of those games,’ he explained.

‘It was not so much that he’s got three games [to save his job], it almost the nature of the opposition, being a team that have been in the bottom three all season, West Ham, a promoted team in Sunderland, and then Leeds, another promoted team in the bottom three.

‘It felt like: if you don’t get results there, it does feel a little bit like… where do you go.

‘The idea of Liverpool changing a manager who has won the league… Liverpool have never changed a manager who has won the league.

‘And then, who do you get? The idea of putting an interim manager in just feels like: how?!’

There has been some talk of Steven Gerrard stepping in to take over the reins from Slot on an interim basis during the last few weeks of the club’s malaise.

But Carragher doubts there is any truth to the rumours surrounding his long-time ex-team-mate and feels the majority of the fanbase are simply ‘desperate’ for Slot to turn things around.

Asked if the Gerrard links could be serious, Carragher replied: ‘No, I wouldn’t imagine so.

‘Listen, that’s because he’s been a manager and he’s had great success at Rangers as well.

‘Obviously he’s a legendary figure and he’s back and he’s floating around Liverpool, he’s back in town.

‘But I don’t think most Liverpool fans will be screaming for Steven Gerrard. I think everyone is desperate for it to work for Slot.

‘But the flip-side of being on such a bad run is: how long does it carry on? So I do feel like it was a big week.’

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